New York has passed a law aimed at combating so-called “ghost guns” – homemade firearms without a serial number that can be made using a 3D printer. The new rules will oblige manufacturers to equip devices with special security technologies that can block the printing of weapons and their components, Newsweek reports.
The initiative was proposed by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul in January of this year. She described the situation with the proliferation of untraceable weapons in the United States as a transition from the “iron pipeline” – the illegal trafficking of factory-made weapons – to the “plastic pipeline”, when weapons are increasingly produced in an artisanal way. The law was passed by the state Legislature and signed by the governor in late May.
“Ensuring public safety is my top priority. “When I took office, I made a promise to New Yorkers to aggressively combat the epidemic of gun violence, and as gun technology advances, so do our nation's strictest gun laws,” she said.
According to the Associated Press (AP), it is expected that a program built into the printers will analyze each file sent for printing, checking it against a digital database of weapon parts. If a match is found, printing will be automatically blocked. One possible solution is geometric analysis of models: the program will be able to evaluate the shape, size and other design characteristics of an object, identifying parts similar to elements of a firearm.
The technical side of the law is still under development. The law provides for the creation of a special expert group that will prepare standards for algorithms for recognizing weapon drawings. According to AP, the implementation of the system itself is not expected until 2029 and could be delayed if experts deem the technology not reliable enough. Once the technical rules are developed, the state will allow prosecution of anyone selling 3D printers in New York without a protective system.
In addition, the new law criminalizes the sale, distribution or possession of unlicensed digital blueprints for the manufacture of weapons and their components. Gun manufacturers will also be required to redesign pistols so that they cannot be modified into non-production “ghost” designs.
In recent years, legislators in various states have begun to tighten regulations on untraceable guns. This year, Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington passed laws against ghost guns, including restrictions on their manufacture and the distribution of digital blueprints. Currently, 11 US states have bans on 3D printed guns, and another six require serial numbers.
The peculiarity of the law in New York is that it is aimed not only at the weapons themselves, but also at the technology of their production. A similar bill is being considered in California.
According to statistics, since 2017, the number of “ghost guns” seized by police in the United States has increased by almost 1,600%. During this period, law enforcement seized more than 92,000 units. Since 2012, the number of 3D printers in the world has grown from about 30,000 to more than 3 million devices, according to Bill Decker, chairman of the 3D Printing Association. Although professional models cost thousands of dollars, some printers today can be purchased for just a few hundred.
In one of the most high-profile criminal cases of recent years – the murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2024 – the investigation suggests that the defendant, Luigi Mangione, used a 3D printed pistol.
